Stone cold heart
by Scribler360
Summary: AH. The last thing I expected was to be held hostage by a ruthless man called Edward.
1. Date with death

**Summary :** **AH. Edward. Anthony. Masen. Cullen. Whatever you called him didn't matter. Because the last thing you see before you die.....is his face.**

**Stephanie Meyer owns all things Edward, Bella and every sordid characteristic.**

**What I DO own is a battered mobile and a second hand edition of a book.**

**Please don't sue me, I beg of you.**

* * *

"Fifty thousand."

The man before him was sweating like a pig, his armpit stains reeking of pheromone. For a second, Edward let a small smile play on his lips. Pheromones was traditationally a hormone discreted by a male when he was sexually aroused.

The man before him looked anything but.

"I think you misunderstand me," Edward lent forward on his elbows, "When I say my services don't come _cheap._"

The air hung tense with his warning, but the man not wanting to prolong the meeting longer than necessary, nodded once. "Fine, sixty thousand," he said shortly. And then continued staring at the young man with a denim coat and bright green eyes, before him. He shivered.

For a second, the pair stared at each other in a fixed suspension of time before Edward shifted in his chair and pulled out a firearm from within his waistband. Almost lovingingly, he flicked open the firing chamber and watched the overhead light bounce of the fully loaded cartridges.

"I would reconsider the offer, if I were you."

At last, Edward looked up from the weapon and their eyes connected. There was no love lost in his eyes, but yet his smile spoke of a dedicated man. His client gulped and trembled when Edward closed the firing chamber with a palm in an upward movement. His eyes remaining transfixed on the gun as it began bouncing up and down on his folded knee.

"Hundred thousand, final of-ffer."

Gared Jenkin's voice broke at the final word and therefore looked up, expecting to see Edward's face twisted into amusement. Instead two cool eyes watched him reach under the desk to pull out a suitcase and push it towards him. "It's all there," he said hastily. "You can check."

This time, Edward looked pissed. "You mean, you had a hundred all along and was trying to see if you could rip me off?" The safety clutch clicked off with a resounding note of anger. "I don't appreciate the gesture, Mr Jenkins." Gared looked ready to poop into a box, but instead released his bladder into his pants as he found himself staring deep into the depths of a barrel.

"Please don't kill me," he begged, looking petrified. "My boss just wanted to see if you'd lower-"

The gun was removed from his face in an instant. If Edward had noticed that the smell of urine was mingling with the pheromones in the air, he didn't mention it. Instead he nodded at the paper thin file before Gared and tucked the firearm back into his pants.

"My philosophy never did include "_Don't shoot the messenger," _he laughed, but when seeing the fear heighten a notch in his oppenent-- stopped. "Or did it?"

The room had resorted back to it's awkward silence held earlier. Both parties stared unblinkingly at each other, and Gared began to fidget when he noticed that Edward's arms was locked so tightly by the side it looked un-natural. The way he held his head so....._still _was another enigma altogether. Whoever had trained this young killer before him was good, and not in a bad way.

"Your target is in here and _don't-" _Gared hissed as Edward lent forwards to pick up the file. "Open it here. This place is swarming with CCTV." He threw a pointed glance at the camera situated at the far corner of the room and cursed his boss for ordering him to say that line when they went over the brief earlier. It was strange what concoctions you can agree too, before facing the actual person itself....

Edward cracked his knucles ominously.

"I'd let that slide," he said smoothly, "Because it is clear your boss is speaking through you. However," he added sharply as Gared began to look relieved. "I would urge you to tell your boss that I do not react _well _to people patronising me. Think you can manage that?"

Boy, was Edward clever. In making a warning about not being patronised in the future, he'd done a bit of patronising himself. But the man before him, nodding so dumbly, would never twig onto the fact that his intelligence had just been insulted. This was perhaps the very reason why the boss chose him in the first place.

At the door, with the file now zipped in his jumper and the suitcase in one hand, Edward pressed open the door to enter the cool open air. Gared, finally relieved that this young man with jaded eyes and a threatening aura had finally exited, muttered, "_Freak," _under his breath.

He didn't even have time to look up before a bang richocheted into the air, and he cracked into his seat before finally slumping onto the desk. A neat little bullet hole deforming his otherwise pretty nape.

But then, Gared always had been a stickler for a good haircut.

* * *

**Next chapter is in first person and BPOV. This story is going to alternate between 3rd person Edward and 1st person Bella. Never tried anything like it, so fingers crossed, eh?**

**And this is rated M for a reason! (Smut galore.....though that'd probably be the later chapz)**

**Reviews will promote a quick (and bigger) update....**


	2. Silent house

**For the sake of this story, Charlie and Renee are together. They are by no means, happy but that'll come across anyway...**

**BPOV**

"Charlie! Where the hell are my keys to the BMW?!"

At that moment of time, my hand had been poised to pour a glass of orange juice to join my cheese sandwich. Unfortunately the yell from somewhere above, jolted my hand unexpectadly and made certain that half the jug's contents would end up in my lap.

I gazed down at my navy bottoms aghast, already the cruel jibes of my classmates running through my head.

"_Hey, Bella-OH my god, did you just piss yourself?"_

_"Everybody, Bella's pissed herself!"_

_"Never had you down as a pisser, Bella."_

Most people were friendly enough to my face, but I knew turning up in orange juice would halt my life for the rest of senior year. I had to go change-- NOW. I met my mother half-way up the stairs, her eyes blearily being rubbed as I rushed past her. Two minutes later, I found my mother in the exactly same position as I ran past, now comfortably fitted in another pair of navy sweats that I'd bothered to buy multiple copies off.

If you haven't guessed by now, then I am nothing like your average fashion_ista. _God forbid.

"Bella!" my mom called after me. "Let me drive you to school!"

What? And let everyone see what a state you're in? It'd only been five hours ago when she'd stumbled in, staying out late god knows where. Charlie was even worse, not even bothering to turn up till three hours ago. A burning suspicion told me that he'd spent a good portion of his night with Emma, his secretary and judging by mom's pleased smirk she knew too. And I know for a _fact _she'd be fucked dry by our gardener.

I'd never been able to shake Joe by the hand after that. Even when I'd gotten him fired, a month later by telling mom I'd seen him shagging Corderlia Chase from across the road against the garden shed.

And the sad part about it, was that it was actually true.

"It's okay!" I called back, and then I was finally out into the hot summer air. My t-shirt had already started to stick to the back of my nape by the time I'd reached the end of the road.

The school I attended was three blocks away, by the name of _Saint Augustine's. _I hadn't particularly wanted to go there, the very name conjuring up images of racy nuns living by the lord's name at day and the lord's nether regions by nightfall. The fact that I'd seen a nun hit a boy in the buttocks by a ruler stick on the first day hadn't eased my apprehension one little bit.

But now, five years on, I'd grown much more wiser and sensible. Of _course, _I hadn't witnessed a mini-sex orgy the day back in freshman year. In fact, that was the way our school disciplined it's students. Our school was privately run and had the curse of being one of thirty states that haven't banned corporal punishment as of yet. The fact that our school was previously a nunnery with old principal values to match had paddling the top three of punishments to be recieved.

Paddling, my arse.

But I did most my homework anyway, so it normally didn't bother me. I wouldn't be what you call a _teacher's pet _but I wasn't a Grade A rebel either. Somehow, somewhere, I'd managed to strike a nice balance between the two along the line. Get your head bent, do the work, chat to your friends if you want too, then go home.

Easy peasy, lemon squeazy.

"Hey Bella!" called Alice from the school gates, and it felt oh so good to see a genuine face. She linked arms with me the moment I was by her side.

"Have you seen him?" she gushed as we walked elbow to elbow by the oak tree in the center of our courtyard. I was curious, despite myself. It was rare to see Alice to get excited over boys that attended the better part of our school, ever since one pinged her bra open back in ninth grade gym.

How flipping mature.

"I don't know much about him, but I heard his name's _Jasper _when this girl came running up to him and shouted his name! And all the while I'd thought I'd been dreaming..."

And thus I was swept into a world of boys, crushes and sparkly stuff that only Alice could lead with such enthusiasm.

* * *

**_./~/._**

The air hostess stood beside him, trying to garner his attention. Instead his attention was fixed on the briefcase in front of him, as he picked up the thin file and flicked it open with startling ease.

"Sir? Can I get you anything?"

"No."

His answer was abrupt and cold. The air hostess beside him seemed undefeated however, as she reached over him and proceeded to check if the air bags was correctly installed. For a rich second, Edward allowed her breasts to be annoyingly pressed into his ear, her pert nipples tickling his cheek before he abruptly stood up, sending the hostess careening to the otherside of the aisle into the starled laps of the passengers awaiting there.

She righted herself, with flaming cheeks and refused to let her eyes meet with his.

Edward pushed past the annoying tourists coming down the aisle, clearly having just had sex in the toilet cubicle. The woman flushed and pulled down her crumpled skirt as she caught Edward's stare. Then she fluffed her hair and eyed his business attire hopefully, as if hoping for round two.

Edward's lip curled and his hand tightened around the briefcase handle.

Change of plan. Edward turned and headed back to the seat he'd just vacated. Thankfully the pushy air hostess had disappeared into the cock-pit at the bottom of the plane. He normally wouldn't have minded taking up her silent invitation, but there was business to do and he couldn't afford to take his eye of the ball.

Mistakes were deadly. Every amateur knew _that. _

He flicked open the file and took in their names. _Charlie and Renee Swan. _One daughter. No pets.

The studio picture of the family spoke volumes. The mother and father looked the everyday typical nancy-boy and trollop. The daughter....

_Pretty,_ he decided. _But nothing special._

He wouldn't mind having her bent on her knees, screaming his name but when the time came, pulling the trigger would be easy.

* * *

**_./~/._**

The moment I got home, I noticed something was wrong straightaway. For a while, I lingered by the front doorstep wondering what it was. It was only when the silence began to take hold and suffocate did I realise that I couldn't hear any _arguing._

Mom and dad must be out, I decided, but where I didn't have a clue. Normally it was rare for them to just leave _together. _It was always separately. But mom's BMW keys that she had wanted so badly this morning were still hanging by the back door. Something was oddly strange here, but I just couldn't put a mind to what.

In the kitchen, I searched for any post-it notes stuck on the fridge before opening it, to pull out a can of soda. The living room was just eerily as quiet and I scanned around the whole room for an activity to do. My eyes fell on the entire _Buffy the vampire slayer: Season four _box set and a _eureka! _moment pinged in my head. I could watch some Buffy at full blast till mom or dad came home! Grinning, I looked around for the remote....

* * *

**_./~/._**

Half-six and my stomach was grumbling. Seriously, where were they?

Setting the TV to mute, I wandered back into the kitchen and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. In my peripheral vision, I caught sight of my bookbag and I guilty turned away from it, not wanting to think about the essay on _Hedda Gabler _I'd yet to finish. God, being an only child sucks.

Upstairs, I heard a door bang close and I shivered, trying to forget that urban legend....

How did it go? Oh yeah....A babysitter in the house with 3 kids upstairs and what does she get? An eerie phonecall.

"_Cheeccck theee chillldennn..."_

The phone rang shrill then, and I jumped clear off my seat. "Fuck," I whimpered, banging my shin against the leg too hard. Semi-hopping, I reached the phone by the fourth shrill and picked up, annoyance laced in my tone. "What?!" I snapped.

"Check the chilldren..."

I'm not going for a lie, for a moment there my heart ricocheted into my throat as I swallowed a strangled moan. But just before I was about to freak out and slam the phone down, I heard a distinctarly familiar (thank god!) giggle.

"Alice," I all but growled. "You nearly killed me there. That wasn't funny!"

The silence from her end was broken as she burst into a series of high pitched giggles. Just when I thought she was going to stop, I'd open my mouth and she'd burst into another batch of giggles again. _How does she DO that? _I pondered furiously as I gnashed my teeth.

"Oh, I'm sorry but it was!" she gasped, and I could almost picture her wiping the tears out of her eyes. "You should have heard yourself..." And then she proceeded to give me an exact reenactment of the strangled moan that had exited my lips in genuine fear. Although thinking back on it, I'd sounded more like a sex-addict in ecstasy. The joy.

"Look," I grumbled. "I have no idea where the hell my parents are and I'm kinda feeling lonely. Fancy joining?" I curled the telphone wire around my finger as I awaited for her answer. If Alice came over, then it'd save me a whole lotta boredom and even distract me from that _Hedda Gabler _essay I should've been finishing but wasn't.

"Soz," Alice replied and I could almost hear the sorrow in her voice. "My 'rents are breathing down my neck. Something about finishing my essay blah blah blah. _Sooooo_ droll but I guess that's true love for you. Hey, why don't _you _come over? Think that'll be alright, just as long as we promise the 'rents to do some work. Bring a sleeping bag."

"Thanks," I laughed, "That's what I've been resorted too? Cheers, buddy, you're a real trooper."

Upstairs I heard another bang and the smile was wiped off my face as quickly as it had come. I clenched the phone tightly to my ear and tried to sound as cheery as I did a minute ago.

"I'll be right over," I stage-whispered and put the phone down on Alice's incoherent, excited squealing. Easier said than done. Great, now all that faced me was heading upstairs and finding a pair of pyjamas I could wear without being moderately embarrassed. Damn mom for trying to buy my sexy nightwear at every given opportunity. Dad would have a heart attack if he found out.

Pushing my fears aside, (and calling them irrational) I headed up the stairs, reaching my room in twenty seconds flat. Almost running past my parents room, their door agape with blackness, in fear I might see something lurking inside.

Once inside my room, the light dispelled away any of my worries and I pulled open my wardrobe, backing away with fists in my hair as I considered what would be best to take along.

That was at least until I backed into something that felt like _liquid steel. _

I opened my mouth and screamed.

* * *

**School ended earlier than expected. Had some free time to kill. And voila, this chapter was born :)**

**Reviews will be much appreciated ! :) I have another earlier closure on Friday.....an update may be winging it's way then, I dunno.**


	3. Watching hope die

**In all honesty I wasn't going to continue this…What was the point? I felt nobody was reading it…**

**But apparently there are **_**some **_**and it's only fair if I continue, if only for you guys ;)**

**EPOV**

_Gotcha._

**BPOV**

"Are you Bella Swan? Nod yes or no."

Have you ever heard the term sexless before? It's weird, but it wasn't until that moment I realised exactly what it meant. Like a robot from the 31st century had just escaped it's millennia and decided to travel back in time to terrorize little old me. I mean, _come on. _Wouldn't the White House be a more suitable location to make demands, instead of a teenage girl's bedroom?

_Apparently not._

Like any other time I've been in a pressurized situation (exams included) I said the first thing that popped into my head, completely forgetting I'd been asked to nod my answer.

"You can't nod no."

"_What?"_

Ah, so he was male. His pissed off answer alongside with the mirror on the inside of my wardrobe aided my thirst to see who was behind me. I could just make out broad shoulders, a firm torso and two gaping holes in a balaclava before something cold pressed into my temple.

"I'm asking you again. Are you or are you not, Bella Swan?" He coldly queried.

I didn't like how he said my name. It made tingles race up and down my spine as I picked out my gaunt reflection in the mirror. My eyes looked abnormally large and my lower lip was trembling. This was all offset by what clearly looked like a '44 Magnum pressed against my head.

And when you're under that kind of pressure (and fear) the only thing your mind can work with is a LIE. It was surprising how easily it came of my tongue, sounding so smooth that it almost sounded like the truth. And Alice had always said I could never lie to safe my life! Well look here Alice, looks like the perfect opportunity to test your theory has come along for all and sundry…

"I-I'm just the maid! Don't shoot! I-I just work here…."

I met his emerald eyes in our reflection with some kind of guts and bravado. But when his eyes skipped away from mine and took in the kiosk photos Alice and me had taken, the last time we visited a fun-fair down in Colorado…

The first shot had me looking bored, with Alice doing the peace sign behind my head. The next had her crooking them slightly, so they looked like exhausted bunny ears.

In the penultimate one, I had just discovered what Alice had been doing and was laughing uproariously whilst she grinned on from the background and in the final one I was mock-throttling her in front of the camera, whilst she poked out her tongue and crossed her eyes.

Fun times.

And apparently my assailant thought so too, when he nudged me again with his revolver.

"Oh really?" he said genuinely and I almost fell into the trap of agreeing. What? I didn't want him to get the impression that I'd agree with him for everything! Next thing we'd know he'd be hitting me up on facebook!

_**Masked Balaclava-man**__ added you as a friend on facebook…._

_Do you accept or decline?_

"Does your mistress make a habit of keeping pictures of her maid all over the room?"

I didn't know how to answer that with anything short of a nervous break-down, so I shrugged and decided confidence was my best bet to salvage my nerves. "What can I say? I'm the best maid she's ever had."

The last thing I expected, was for my head to be wrenched back by my hair and my neck to be cricked at a painful angle. Unwillingly, tears almost charged to my eyes but I blinked away the worst of it and prayed Charlie would bust into the room any minute and arrest this fucker's ass.

But as these things go, wishes aren't very easily granted.

"You are tiring my patience, girl and I advice you to put your mouth to good use and-" _(Swallow your spunk?)_

"tell me the truth. Are you or are you _not, _Bella Swan?"

With my throat mysteriously clogged, I found I could do nothing more than nod. Amongst the occasional sob, I shied away when a gloved hand came up to wipe away a tear.

"Now, now," he soothed. "If you'd been this cooperative in the beginning, we wouldn't have been having this conversation, would we?"

I hated the patronising tone in his voice, just hated it. It also didn't help that I felt pretty vulnerable with my throat exposed to him like that, and goosebumps racing down it as cold (and I'd like to imagine, minty) breath followed it's trail. My eyes were closed by now. I didn't want to see anything I didn't want to see and something told me if I kept my eyes closed long enough, then all of this would go away.

How wrong I was.

Somewhere in the distance, outside me charged but unheated bedroom, outside my half-opened window with the curtains billowing slightly in the wind, a car door slammed and a _beep, beep _followed it, informing all potential thieves out there it'd just been locked.

I saw it more of a lifeline and I found myself screaming, "HELP! SOMEBODY! I'M BEING KIDNA-"

Before the same gloved hand that wiped away my tear, muffled my screams into a pitiful whimper. I could still taste the saltiness for gods-sake and was that…gunpowder?!

My struggles became more evident as my captor swore into the dim darkness as footsteps began walking _toward _the Swan's front residence, rather than _away_. I would've loved to have thought it was because they had heard my screams, but more likely that not, it was probably to admire the lawn gleaming sapphire under the midnight sun.

(And then I was gone.)

* * *

**. /~/ .**

Edward set the girl down on the bed, before hunching down on his hackles as the door bell rang through the house. Shit upon all shits. Too much talking and too little subduing had cost him time and compromised his getaway plan.

"Charlie? Renne? Are you home?"

_Of course not, _Edward's lip curled. _I wouldn't be bothering with little fry over here if there were bigger fish to catch. Dammit!_

"….Bella? Are you up there? I'm going to climb up if that's okay…"

_No, it's bleeding not okay! _

The idea of this teenage boy, and clearly Bella's friend, using the same route he himself had used to get in was slightly annoying. What the hell was a teenage girl doing entertaining silly boys by growing ivy under her window? If he'd been a teenager, he would have relished the challenge to see such a pretty reward at the end of…

He stopped the thought before he could get ahead of himself.

_What was so special about Bella Swan anyway?_

* * *

**. /~/.**

When I finally resurfaced to the land of the living, warm sunshine was bathing my face and I strangely felt comfortable. For a while I lay in my bed thinking of what had awoken me, and it was only when I stretched my senses out did I hear the radio playing in the background.

"A good day to you folks and it looks like there's beautiful weather on the horizon! The Grand Canyon is set to be teeming with tourists and the roads are relatively accident-free. In other news, a fire set in the early hours of the morning, has destroyed several property in the Mulborn area and claimed two sets of lives-"

My eyes flew open then and I shot up, to only bang my head against the moving roof. It looked like my worst nightmares had come true, when I looked out the windows and saw dusty greenland flying by at an alarming rate.

"So you're finally awake," rumbled a voice and my head snapped to the front of the car. My assailant had taken off his balaclava now, but the green eyes were the one and the same.

A part of me wished he'd turn around and look at me, but I knew he'd never make a mistake like that.

If I ever_ did _see his face, then it would be just before I died.

"You bastard," I croaked, my throat still scratchy from not having drunk any liquids in the past few hours. "That fire on the news…you started it, didn't you? _Two _people died because of you, asshole! Are you happy now? Huh? Have you achieved in what you had set out to do?"

Grimly, I noticed there was no other cars on the Interstate and wouldn't be for a good fifty miles either. A part of me wanted to risk opening the back door and hurling myself onto the ground, rolling and bouncing till I came to a standstill.

But that would be suicide, wouldn't it? And I was too much of a coward to do _that._

"The answer to all of your questions are yes," he said meeting my eyes once again in the rearview mirror. "The ball's in our corner now that your parent's attention has been well and truly caught."

"You mean, you're doing all of this for my _parents?" _I hissed.

Sudden realization struck that it wasn't about me, it'd _never _been about me and I found myself sighing a breath of relief. Those people hadn't been killed because of _me. _The elation died quickly though. How could I feel this happy when two people were _dead? _Anyways, to find out that your parents were the cause behind it all, wasn't much better either.

It's almost like the finger of accusation was meant to point at you, but just missed and hit your loved ones instead.

About a hundred yards ahead, I spied a gas station looming from the dirt. When my eyes left the last salvation and met his again, I knew he'd seen it too and was waiting for my reaction.

"You're going to drug me again, aren't you?"

"Yup."

* * *

**. /~/.**

Seeing the hope die in her eyes was an unexpected rush Edward didn't expect to feel. It almost fooled him into thinking she would extend her arm submissively, and allow herself to be injected with the drug.

But one thing he did not expect, was for her to throw open back door and launch herself out.

Edward swore as he swerved the car, watching through his side mirror as she rolled slightly and struggled to sit up. By the time he had grabbed the tranquiliser dart and got out of the car, she was running off the road and through the dusty woodland, kicking up dust in her midst.

So it seemed Bella Swan wasn't as clever as she let on.

He worked quickly and efficiently, tracking her footprints and occasional stumbles like he would track a wild animal. Eventually she would have to tire out and he would keep going strong, in the strength of the blazing sun. "_Be--ellla_," he called mockingly. "_Beeell-aaa…_."

The prints indicated she was crawling by now, using her upper body strength to drag herself through the brambles and hard stones. There were places where her clothing had been caught and ripped clear off, just accentuating how thin clothes were made these days.

Eventually he found her, lying on her back and gasping down air monstrously. He loomed over and for a while watched her chest heave up and down, imagining her caged heart hammering like a cornered animal, aware of its impending doom.

And then he realised she was trying to say something, rasping, moaning, crying even.

"S-stay- the h-hell a-away-"

"From you?" he finished, bending down to sweep some hair from her forehead. He pressed the tranquiliser dart against her arm, and shook his head.

"No can do."


	4. Power Trip

**Nine reviews people. You're killing me ;)**

**That means I have to post **_**another **_**chapter up, if only to show my gratitude. I **_**could **_**be watching party politics right now, but between you and me I don't give a flying monkeys.**

**;D**

**BPOV**

When I next woke, it was dark. It may have been minutes, or even hours but I spent a while slipping in and out of a haze that could only be described as _content. _

My delusion took on a new height when I imagined my parents burst into my room, singing "_Happy birthday to you….Happy birthday to you…Happy birthday dear Bella…"_

And actually looked like they meant it.

It was then that I knew I was dreaming. I had to be. I felt the cool silver around my wrists and the awkward cramp curling my knees under me posed. I felt like I hadn't moved in months, and didn't want to either but the volley of aches clenching my muscles mercilessly made me cry into the night with fear.

Silence answered.

"Somebody…"I pitifully croaked, unable to raise my voice any higher. "Somebody…."

And then that somebody came, when a key turned in a lock and a silhouette framed the door. As it slowly descended the basement steps, I found myself weakly sobbing, "Not you…_anything _but you…"

But it was him and there was nothing I could do about it. Warily I watched him light a lamp near the entrance, just under the stairs and then grimly make his way towards me, uncapping a bottle of evian along the way.

Immediately I went into lock-down, and clenched every orifice in my body shut. Even my thighs which earned a disapproving glare from him.

"Relax," he said, drawing my head back and tilting the water to my lips. "I'm not going to rape an under-aged kid."

(_As opposed to a fully-grown adult?!)_

He and I both knew I was far away from a knobbly-kneed child as you can get. But if he wanted to pretend I was too "young" to be raped, then fine by me.

I could play this sick game if you want, and I can play it better.

For the first time I notice what condition I'm in. My hair feels like limp linguini and my breath probably wasn't faring better. The clothes that I once wore in comfort now clung to my body in sweat and grime. I couldn't even reach down and scratch an itch on my foot because I'd been handcuffed to what looked like a massive water pipe travelling the entire perimeter of the room.

This was disgusting. _I _was disgusting.

"Drink," he said, once again shoving the bottle in my face. I turned away just as a trickle of water ran down my cheek and into my ear canal. My body felt punished at the wastage of precious aqua but I didn't want to risk being drugged.

Not again.

And not now.

This time he was relentless, pinching my nose shut and waiting until I gasped for air before dumping water into my mouth.

I spluttered like crazy but swallowed most of it down, cursing, crying, hating but all in my head.

_Damn._

He looked at me with tenderness then and it scared the living daylights out of me. I recognised artificiality when I saw it and didn't care much for it.

Was he and Jessica Stanley related? That would explain a whole load right now and sense was what I needed.

(_Not this.)_

"D-Do you have a bathroom?" I uttered and as soon as I said it, my bladder felt like a ton of bricks. Suddenly the foreshadowing to cross my thighs seemed a brilliant one and I congratulated myself for getting at least one thing right in this hell-hole.

Now to get another…

"Well?" I said trying not to let the impatience show in my tone. Maybe if I could encourage him to leave me alone in the bathroom, even just for a minute, I could slip out the window and shimmy down a drainpipe before doing a somersault into some bushes and finding a phone-box…

My flash-forward came to an end, when my abductor took a key out of his pocket and began unlocking my handcuffs.

"Don't make me regret this," he murmured as I rubbed my wrists and then tenderly flexed my fingers. But nothing could eradicate the new-found hope bursting into my heart….

Not even his threat.

---------

**EPOV**

The house wasn't up to much but this precisely suited Edward's needs. It was so run-down and so filthy, the government must have given up on it eons ago. Typically, this wasn't Edward's preferred squalor but the first house fell through and this one was the only one with a kettle and two bottles of bourbons.

And the kettle didn't even work.

Fucking typical.

He couldn't wait to get this job done and over with.

Currently, the sole purpose of his pay-check was standing by the toilet, blushing. What was her game? He didn't have all day to waste and if she didn't hurry up and take a leak, they were _both _going.

Piss or no piss.

Blood pooled under Bella's cheeks as she bit her lip shyly. "Aren't you going to leave?"

"And let you at the window? I don't think so," he said smoothly. His irritation itched up another notch. Did she think he was stupid?

"But I want a shower….and some fresh clothes too?" The last bit sounded hopeful and Edward didn't let up his glare, not even once. So now she was trying to trick him in leaving the room to search for some fresh "clothes." What did he look like? A fucking stylist?

"I wasn't born yesterday," he said icily, "And you haven't got anything I haven't seen before. But for argument's sake, let's say I turn around and let you do your business. Will you stop being a bitch, then?"

If the girl knew what was best for her, she would shut up and get on with it. For a tense moment, Edward and Bella stared at each other from across the disused bathroom. And then she gave a curt nod and that was all Edward needed.

(_Confirmation.)_

_------_

**BPOV**

There was something nerve-wracking about taking a piss, when a strange man stood meters away and could probably hear every twitch you make. The shower was a grungy one, but when I checked the water, it seemed to running fine, looking relatively clean.

I immediately didn't get into the shower, faffing about with the temperature knob even though it was set at a cool 15 degrees. I think there was something within me, that was objecting to the fact that I had to get naked when Mr Let-me-watch-you-piss got away scot-free.

_The curse of the female gene._

Eventually I got over my phobia, and lathered up as best I could with only water and some unopened bar of soap I found in the cabinet. Watching the dirt slide away into the drain-hole was deeply satisfying and I soon found myself humming away in the shower, in my daily routine.

Except with no-one watching, of course.

As I turned of the knob, and wiped my dark hair away from my face, something shiny caught the corner of my eye. I turned sharply and caught my breath when I realised there was a mirror on the other side of the room-

_And he was standing right in front of it._

The moment he caught my eye, he averted his own with something akin to guilt.

I felt hot and cold all over and dimly, over the white noise in my head, I heard myself saying, "But I have no clothes….."

**EPOV**

_It's just because you haven't seen a female in a while, _he reassured himself. _She hasn't got anything you haven't-_

Seen before? _His brain mocked. _Been there, done that, sold the T-shirt. You still looked though didn't you, you horny little bastard.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that Bella had just asked for some clothes. No screaming. No tantrums. Not even a little wobbly.

Edward was impressed.

He thought of the video-camera waiting for them downstairs and a cold chill settled over his body. Instead he focused on the present and shrugged out of his black-shirt, leaving him in a white short sleeved T.

Edward struggled to ignore Bella's gasp and simultaneously held out his shirt for her to take. He watched her in the mirror as she struggled to put it on, fumbling with the over-sized sleeves and askew buttons.

But eventually she was done, standing there in all her glory, with her damp hair and his shirt hanging over her frame protectively. At least the hem reached her mid-thigh.

Any higher and he'd be having trouble keeping his eyes averted respectably.

_It's just because I haven't seen a female in a while._

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, _his brain scoffed._

_-----_

**BPOV (the final switch in this chapter, I promise)**

The shirt smelled like him and it still lingered with his warmth. Even though I was panty-less and bra-less I found myself seeking comfort in this warmth, hugging it close as it's owner abruptly turned and faced me.

"We need to get going," he said coldly, and the icicles in his voice sucked all the warmth that I felt and now sorely missed.

I still hated him though.

"Where?" I queried as he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me down a few flight of stairs and a rocky landing. "From the room, or from this house? Are you finally setting me free?"

As I half-expected, he didn't bother answering the questions Nancy Drew could've gathered from in a minute. Instead he dragged me down to a very familiar set of steps and literally threw me down them.

"What was that for?" I yelled from my position on the floor. To see my handcuffs still lying by the pipes made something in my head snap. I didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't even want to do this in the first place.

I have seen his face half-a-dozen times now, and I was tired of waiting for the moment he'd pull a gun out and fire six rounds into my head for ever looking at it.

He wasn't that much of a pleasant companion (ahem, _kidnapper _anyway.) He perved on me, handcuffed me to a bleeding pipe and kept delivering ambiguous statements to keep his "mysterious" factor up.

Seriously.

Who. Did. He. Think. He. Was?

_I HATED THE FUCKING PRICK!!_

I opened my mouth to tell him just so, when I realised he was setting a video camera up on a tripod at the far end of the room. What was he doing? Did he seriously want to be called a "fucking prick" on camera?!

He finally stopped adjusting the dam thing, and setting it to record, strode over to me with settled determination. He stopped right in front of me, just as I had warily gotten to my feet and for a few seconds we watched each other, seeing who would react first.

He did.

_And in a big way._

"Say hello to daddy," he menaced, before backhanding me around the face.

_Oh hell. He just did not do that._

The slap itself didn't sting, and nothing a bit of salve wouldn't sort out but it was the _principal of the thing…._

As I lifted up a hand to tenderly touch my cheek, what I would've liked to imagine as regret flashed through his cool emerald eyes. And then he was commanding me to strip and when I didn't comply, did it so himself.

I shrieked in horror as he unbuttoned the shirt sloppily before sliding it over my body and tying it as a sarong around my hips. He did all this whilst shielding my nudity from the camera, making sure his back was the only thing it could see.

But still I wasn't satisfied.

I whimpered. I yelled. At one point, I think I even boxed his ears but he took all of this without complaint.

And then he pulled me towards him, so my back was plastered against his front and his rock hard abs were cocooning my fragile spine. At this point my nipples had been strained into hard, viscous peaks from the cold and when his thumbs brushed over them, sparks made them strain harder, be more viscous.

The way my body had reacted had been most shameful.

Especially when I felt anything _but _desire.

But yet I found my whimpers muffling, my sobs decreasing as he now used his two _very _warm palms to cup my breasts.

He didn't try squeezing them or even weighing them in his palms, as he suddenly swivelled to face the camera.

Instantly I was awash with sobs, as the reality of the situation hit home.

"You see, Charlie and Renne Swan," he intoned. "I have your daughter, your own flesh and blood under my strength and command, and if you don't show up at The Plaza Hotel, on 31st street, Colorado at 4pm on the dot I will take that as an express permission-"(now he gave my breasts an experimental squeeze) "-to defile your daughter. You were wrong to leave her behind, Mr and Mrs Swan and if you value her mental fragility in any way, I hope you'll be there. It's your choice."


	5. On the run

**3 updates in a week guys. Soak it up while you can, coz it's not gonna last ;)**

** Loads of exams the next week…not to mention finals in 3. **

**BPOV**

"Bella do as I say, and shut up."

That was rich, coming from him. I wasn't the one who unzipped his pants and nestled his cock in the palm of my hands, now was I? Because that was the equivalent of what he was doing to me- except more violating and less enjoyable.

He was watching the camera now, and probably gnawing his lip about what to do next. So when he hiked me up by the armpits, and dragged me off-screen that didn't surprise me in the slightest.

"Get that shirt on," he demanded, looking at the sarong tied around my hips. The way his eyes settled on my curves made my skin crawl, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of looking down to see whether I was covered or not.

When it looked like he was going to turn away, and go back to the camera I found myself saying, "What? You aren't going to rape me now?" sarcastically.

He didn't even have to look at me to realise what I'd done was very stupid. There's one thing being witty among friends but to a serial… (rapist?) that was probably an enticement or something.

I watched him walk to the tripod and switch the video off.

Then I watched him square his shoulders and meet me right in the eye.

"Don't talk about things you don't know, little girl," he said frostily.

"Oh, but I must," I called back, struggling to find my feet. I began the arduous task of recovering my dignity by untying the shirt around my waist and shrugging it on so it enveloped me.

He watched all the while, maximising his turn to observe the other. Was he judging or was he admiring? Was he contemplative or was he contemptuous? His face was a smooth canvas, giving nothing away.

"That tape you recorded. You're going to send it to my parents, aren't you? Though in hindsight it doesn't seem that much of a masterplan. Particularly since you don't have their _address_."

Six quick strides and he was with me, clenching his hands on my forearms and lifting me into the air. "Do you know where they are?" he angrily asked, impassive green eyes flitting from my eyes to my lips and then back again. He shook me like I was rag-doll and that scared me more than his annoyance.

"Because if I find out you're hiding something from me, I'll-"

"What?" I bit out, swallowing the end of his sentence. "You'll _defile _me? But wait, you don't rape under-aged kids!"

War raged in his eyes in an epic battle of defeat and glory. His pale skin almost matched the paleness of mine, but even I could see the pool of colour working to his cheeks. He wasn't blushing- god forbid, but he _was _getting worked-up.

It sounded like music to my ears.

His breath, a warm ocean breeze of lazy summers and freshly mowed grass, washed over my face before he dragged my ear to his lips and let out a guttural growl into the external shell.

"_Circumstances change."_

_--------_

**EPOV**

The thick silence was betrayed by his cell's vibration in his back-pocket. Edward dropped the girl back into a lump, and walked quickly and brusquely up the basement stairs, with the sidelong addition of the camera in his journey.

It was only when he locked the door behind him, and set the junk on the table, did he answer.

"I've done what you asked."

"Good, good. I'm sure you directed a visual masterpiece for the parents enjoy. Did you include the nudity?"

"To the very letter," Edward bit out.

"Excellent. Well I'll make sure they get it within the six hours, one of my henchman would be coming along right about now.

"So you know where they are?" Edward asked, annoyance settling in. "Then we're home and dry. What do we need the girl for?"

The long pause on the other side of the line told a different story. It started with how his boss began to ponder why Edward was questioning his judgement, and whether the girl meant something more to him than bait. And then it concluded with dismissing the thought, because if Edward Cullen was anything, it was unlovable.

"Everything, Edward. Everything. Just sit with your legs tight and stick to plan. Goodbye."

Just then the front doorbell rang.

------

**EPOV**

"You must have made quite an impression on Stud, Edward. I've never seen such a big man so close to tears."

Over the hallway, Edward caught his reflection in the mirror and realised for the first time in days, he was grinning. He almost looked his age again, and about care-free as he did in Junior High. The moment he caught himself though, he stopped grinning and scowled instead.

"You must understand why I didn't let him take the camera," he answered, pouring himself a glass of bourbon. "That's all your cleaners need. To wipe of all the pre-cum he's wanked himself off with whilst watching the tape." He swirled the glass rapidly and then downed it in one go.

Edward found his mood souring, as the man on the other side started laughing. He was well onto his second glass, by the time the boss finished and chortled, "I must say, Edward, you outdid yourself with this one. Such an inventive idea to shield her breasts instead of bare them like we originally planned. This way your filthy paws are on her, but there's no bit to censor. Bravo, Edward, Bravo!"

"Bravo," Edward mockingly replied, toasting his reflection in the mirror. "You're a fucking genius," before polishing the glass off in one fluid movement.

"I'll let you know if anything develops," was Edward's final reassurement before the line went dead.

**EPOV**

"Well?"

"Not a word, Edward, not a word. It's nearing 5 AM now, so get some sleep while you can. It's a big day tomorrow."

"You mean today."

"I mean today."

**EPOV**

The couch in the living room was bearably uncomfortable, with itchy fabric and wooden springs digging into his legs. The fact that he discovered the electrics hadn't been cut yet, guided him to the scene at midday with him stretched out across the settee, with the TV playing quietly in the background on some day show.

His face was unworried. His skin unmarred. Even the pile of drool collecting on the fabric beneath him made him look like an eight-year-old boy in a grown-man's body.

The only thing that destroyed this picture of innocence was the firearm showing through his waistband.

(_And yet he slumbered on.)_

**EPOV**

"- new developments have been made in the abduction of Isabella Swan. The teenager was kidnapped from her home, shortly before a fire ravaged the house and it now looks a suspect has come into the foray. Shortly before 6AM this morning, an anonymous tipper dropped off a video-tape to what looked like a ransom request-"

If Edward had been fully awake, he would've been aware that a picture of Bella in her school yearbook had just flashed up on the screen. But the divide between consciousness and unconsciousness was a tricky one to master, even for one as controlled as he.

"-but with a difference. This was not a ransom about money; repeat not a ransom about _money. _Full details haven't been disclosed yet but a still image of the girl's captor has been released. Please note if you see this man, that he is dangerous and must _not _be approached. The hotline number is-"

Edward finally opened his eyes to candidly take in his face reflected back at him on the screen. And then he sat up and stared in disbelief. Anger, rage and betrayal were emotions that all followed in rapid succession.

"You bastard," he swore into the phone. "You set me up, you fucking prick. The police and the rest of the world are on my back now, just so your balls don't get tainted with filth-"

"Sir?"

_Shit._

Edward cut the line as soon as he heard the feminine drawl at the end. And then dropped the phone to the floor and crushed his heel down on it for safe measure.

Grabbing his gun and flicking the safety off, he strode through the kitchen and opened the door into the dank depths of the basement.

------

**BPOV**

It was actually a sigh of relief to not get handcuffed the second time round. I mean, the handcuffs were there but to not be _in _them made me want to stick my tongue out and go, "Ha Ha!"

Very childish, I know.

To avoid getting the muscular cramps I got earlier on before my trip to the bathroom, I paced the entire breadth of the basement trying at various points to find a route of escape.

The door was an obvious choice, but I wasn't hopeful about that one even before I was proved right… There were some windows higher up but unless there was a trampoline knocking about somewhere, there was no chance.

So instead I resumed my pacing, well aware that if my tormenter returned to do what he threatened to do, my clothing would provide no resistance.

Slide the shirt up, part the old legs and _wham! _Let the bad boys in_! Now don't make me weep silvery tears…._

Wow, do I have a sick mind.

It was only after 5 hours of non-consistent thinking, I realised my best bet was to curl up behind the basement steps and wait until he descended before I ran for it.

As an elementary and middle school pupil, running had been my forte. But after high-school and hitting 'ze puberty, any desire to run _anywhere _literally died that time I refused to run for the school bus because I didn't want to sweat and ruin my first day.

_How I regret my decision._

Somewhere above, footsteps echoed across the floor as they crossed the kitchen. I held myself tense as my captor opened the basement door and warily making his way to the ground. "Bella?"

_Shut up, you turd._

I perceived him through the gap between the stairs and caught glimpse of a revolver by his side. Oh, so he planned on shooting me, did he? Didn't know necrophilia was all the rage these days between serial whatnots.

_Who did?_

"I'm not going to hurt you," he called out stepping further into the room. I waited until he was beside the pipe where I'd lain not 24 hours earlier, before making a dash for it up the stairs.

I hadn't even reached the hallway before I was tackled to the ground by an over-bearing force.

"Ready for the four o'clock rape, are we?" I breathed my mouth full of carpet. Having a one-hundred and sixty pound man lie on top of you was no joke. Especially since I winded myself from just climbing fifteen steps and running a hundred meters.

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but my parents are probably waiting at this hotel as we speak. Why? Because they _love _me, something your mother must have struggled with, with you-"

"_Shut up."_

"Blimey, someone's in a good mood," I said lightly but I knew my heart betrayed itself to him, but beating a hundred thousand miles an hour.

"Your parents didn't even show up anyway. Clearly they don't love you as much as you thought."

"_Shut up."_

Now it was me speaking through gritted teeth. Talk about role-reversal. I refused to speak, let alone look at him, as he rolled himself off me and dragged me up by the back of the shirt.

And then he was pulling me into the outside air, the first I'd seen of it since I'd collapsed near the Interstate and found myself grinning really cheesily. I wiped the smirk right off my face though when I saw a black Sudan waiting in the driveway.

"What's that for?" I asked, affronted.

The man behind me swivelled me by the arms till we were face to face.

"Three things you should know before we get started: Firstly, if you leave me, it's only a matter of time before we're both dead. Second, my word is your bible. And last but not least, the name's Edward."

_Edward? _

_As in Edward Rochester from Jane Eyre? _

"Wow," I commented. "That name is old."


	6. I steal panties

**A/N: Whoever said maths was the universal language of the world was having a laugh…..****(at my expense!!)**

**I'm taking a lil break to type this up :D**

**BPOV**

Watching the world fly by at an alarming rate was hypnotising as I leant my forehead against the window. Soon the greyish overtone turned into pitch black and the inside of the car was reflected back at me, just like that time on Eurostar but a million times more annoying.

Edward cursed and turned the overhead light off, throwing me a brief glance.

I didn't complain like he probably expected me too and instead closed my eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked curiously, as he overtook a car in the middle lane. The driver didn't honk irately back and I felt like yelling at him or her. Every car on the subway had just let Edward overtake them with no or little resistance. Why couldn't they fight back? Everyone's seen Fast and Furious haven't they? Why couldn't they engage him in a race fest until the car spun 180 and let him _die?_

Why did he always have to _win?_

"Nothing," I answered, thinking anything but that. Edward didn't believe me either when he gave a disbelieving snort and asked me the same question again. In the mean time, I was staring at the rearview mirror at the car following us, with a furrowed brow.

"Hey, isn't it illegal to drive this time of night without your headlights on?"

This caught Edward's attention. His head snapped towards the rearview mirror and I heard him mutter, "_Fuck." _Simultaneously, the headlights of the car flashed on and the beautiful sound of sirens pierced the air.

It looked like all my Christmas's had come at once.

Edward pressed down on the accelerator and swerved the car wildly, either planning to shake the police of our tail or kill us in a motor-vehicle accident. I remember shrieking at him to stop the car but I don't think he listened, because the next thing I remember was launching across the gearbox so I could spin the wheel.

"_You crazy bitch!" _he yelled as he flung me across the car with one arm and fought to control the death-defying spin I'd gotten us into. The series of events grew jumbled then and I recalled earlier scenes of Edward pushing me into the car, Edward stopping at a traffic light, Edward asking me what I was thinking about, Edward Edward Edward!!

I felt like screaming. Maybe I was. But by the time the Sudan stopped, Edward (if that was even his name) was breathing heavily and I was staring into the distance in a state of shock.

The silence was tough to break. Was he staring at me? Did he regret not shooting me when he had the chance? My questions were answered when Edward reached out and grabbed me by the chin, turning my head until I was staring into his angry set of eyes.

"What did you do that for, you silly cow?"

With a shakiness that betrayed me, I asked him, "You have to answer some questions first." I tried to ignore how my chin felt hot, but every other part of my body felt cold. Every single one of my nerves his fingers were touching felt so _aware. _Of him, of me, of the close proximity between us.

It almost felt wrong.

When it looked like he wasn't going to answer, I asked him my first question.

"Is it true? Did my parents really not show up?"

Edward breathed shallowly through his nose and I watched him close his eyes and bronze eyelashes feather against his high cheekbones. I watched his adam's apple bob as he gulped and when he opened his eyes, sincereness shone through.

"I would never lie," he whispered.

I was immediately on guard.

"Oh really?" I whispered intimately back." So tell me then why I should trust the man who kidnapped me into running away with him, when I could easily run to the police station. What motive do you have in keeping me? What am I to you?"

The indenting of his eyebrows should've warned me that fury was on its way. But I continued pushing even as I reached up and placed my palm over his hand. There was no love lost as I slowly unravelled his fingers one by one, until his hand hung in mid-air and I could sit back against the passenger seat.

Edward's hand clenched into a fist and he lashed out sideways against the window. I jumped even as he turned the keys and switched the engine on.

"The whole world recognises you and me now, or our faces anyway. Your father was a prolific cop Swan, and he pissed off the wrong kind of people. I was just the first in the long line of people who was prepared to do something drastic to get your father's attention."

A wry smile formed on his lips as he pulled out of the side-road the cops had sailed on right past earlier.

"But now it looks like he's not interested anyway and my boss is out to get me, it makes sense to stick together. If I get caught then that's me finished and if I'm not there to protect you once the police leave, you're dead."

"So basically what you're saying is that if you're dead then I'm dead?" I asked dryly.

"Precisely," Edward practically beamed, except the smiling part. "You catch on fast."

**EPOV**

Silence.

Edward couldn't have been more grateful.

**BPOV**

Somehow the idea there were more bad men out there to hurt me, made my brain hurt. I was Bella Swan, a girl close to exiting her teenage years but not quite, got average grades in school and dated one boy in that entire period of time.

The only crime I had against me was that my existence was dreary on paper. Did these guys want to put me out of my misery? Was that it?

Or is the fact that I'm related to a cop, reason enough?

Since Edward was travelling down the route we had already come, when a familiar looking motel loomed in the distance, it didn't surprise me. What did though, was when Edward began slowing down the closer we got to it until he finally stopped altogether.

We sat in synchronized harmony until Edward suddenly opened the car door and got out. I followed him shakily and stood stupefied as he strolled to the run-down entrance as though he was their long-lost customer.

"Edward, wait!" I called and ran across the tarmac till I caught up with his long legs and my breath was fashionably late. "How come you trust me enough for this?" I wheezed as we finally reached the door and he pulled it open for me. To say I was glad was an understatement, since touching that door handle would've made my stomach roil.

"Are you giving me any reason not to trust you?" he asked and I nearly said _yes. _The more he "trusted" me, the better. Trust meant separate hotel rooms with separate showers and beds. Trust meant separate room keys and a private phone-line to do as you please.

Trust meant _escape._

"Yes, I mean no!" I stuttered, "You can trust me all you want! Treat me like a confidante if you desire, but all your secrets are safe with me! Yup, I'm the master of secre-"

His cold look told me to _shut the fuck up._

Inside the motel, things were equally disgusting and dirty as the outside. There was no waiting room or even a lounge but a mere hallway, so narrow that a person beyond size two would have trouble walking through it. So instead I followed Edward's example (much to my chagrin) and walked sideways so my breasts brushed one wall, and my back pressed against the opposite.

By the end my nipples were horrendously out to play, and I cupped them in hope the warmth will soothe them to softness.

The cleric looked up from his dated newspaper to eye me so keenly, that I was painfully aware that my outfit still consisted of one article of clothing. As he attended Edward, I took my time to study him, noting his long straggly hair and the magnifying spectacles perched on his head. He could've easily been someone's grandpa, if I hadn't caught the paedophilic glint in his eye.

"Yeah, that's right…" Edward was saying, "One room with an en suite…"

_Clearly he doesn't trust you enough, _I muttered evilly in my brain before the penny dropped loud and clear. _Did he just….?_

Edward grunted as he accepted a pair of keys to Room 114. And then grabbing me firmly by the arm he lead me to a staircase that I nearly fell up a couple of times due to it's remote steepness, and then down a squashed landing till we reached our room.

The moment we entered, Edward threw me down on the bed and walked into the bathroom to take a leak. As I heard him peeing into the toilet with his back facing me, I realised that somewhere along the line, he'd gotten comfortable around me enough to let Bella watch him piss without worrying what I'd think.

I just hoped he didn't expect the same courtesy.

After he zipped his pants and briefly washed his hands (thank god!), Edward sauntered back into the room and sat right on top of the mattress, centimeters from where I am now. It was only to be expected that I tensed but when he told me to _chill _I didn't appreciate his mockery any last bit.

"You're not the one without any panties here!" I snapped. "If that were the case, zipping your pants earlier would've been a much harder task than you expected!"

My cheeks grew coloured as Edward stilled on the duvet. Oh Jesus, did I just acknowledge watching him pee earlier? I must have done! Why else would I be feeling so hot and bothered about this?

Any other filthy individual would've run off with his imagination at this point, but Edward merely stood up from the bed and coldly told me, "To get in the bathroom."

I didn't resist.

**EPOV**

"Take a shower while I'm gone," Edward growled through the door, before sliding the key from the lock and putting it on the bed-side table.

And then he was walking away- away from the room- away from the motel- and away from that temptingly naïve girl waiting for him when he got back.

_I can't believe I'm going to do this; _he mused as Edward walked out of the motel and doubled round to the back. The only person who had seen him leave the motel was the clerk himself but the old man looked closer to death than life.

Thankfully all the houses he walked by had a short wall giving him an advantageous peek into their back yards. At last he spotted the thing he wanted to see, a glorious pair of violet panties billowing softly in the wind.

Now only the small matter of harvesting them….

The run-up and leap over the wall was easy enough, but what he didn't expect was for the nettled leaves to cushion his landing. It stung him minutely but the ruckus caused was enough for a light switch to go on in the back kitchen.

Sensing he was seconds away from being discovered, Edward first reached out to grab a pair of leggings before going for the pièce de résistance itself- the violet panties.

The flimsy material evaded his first grasp and then his second and third. By the time his hand managed to grasp a healthy handful of it (which wasn't much), the back door had opened and a woman with a towelled head-dress and a night-robe stood there with an out-raged cry.

"Get away from my undies, you dirty pervert!"

Choosing not to acknowledge his "dirty pervy" status, Edward balled up the underwear in one hand and shoved it into his pocket. And then he was running as if the devil was chasing him himself, and made a much more secure landing over the wall. The moment the cries faded away, "_Get back 'ere, you silly cross-dresser!" _being one of them, Edward slowed down to a walk.

And then Edward scowled.

**BPOV**

The window was a no-go area and neither was the door. Finally after sitting down for five minutes, I realised I might as well get on with the shower before Edward came back and busted in.

After the heat and steam of the water enveloped the room, I finally switched the shower off and reached for the promising-looking towel hanging by the radiator.

_Bliss._

Seeing I had nothing else to wear, I shrugged my relatively clean shirt back on, making sure all the buttons were buttoned and the shirt sleeves were rolled down. Then I attempted to comb my tangled mane of a hair with a hand but gave up with a few knots to go.

What had distracted me became apparent when I heard someone moving around in the other room. I almost believed it to be Edward and nearly called out his name to let me free when someone dropped something and cursed heavily.

I moved away from the door then, dread pooling in my stomach.

A mighty crash informed me the bed had just been over-turned, and the rest of the room would soon follow. God help me, what if this person discovered the key to the bathroom?! Please tell me Edward took it with him; please tell me Edward took it with him…

"_Bingo!"_

That exclamation was my undoing. With a startled gasp, I backed towards the shower until I was standing inside it. Then trying not to make a racket, quietly slid the translucent doors shut to make a cocoon from the nearing footsteps.

My time was up.

* * *

A/N: **PLEASE REVIEW!! **Even all you lurkers out there...**DO IT!! **It'll help me so much, you have no idea.

**Also I couldn't respond to one of my reviewers last time (athompson) due to technical difficulties so thanks anyway! For reviewing...**

**Love yuu all xxx S360**


	7. Here comes the big bad wolf

**A/N: 18 reviews for the last chapter. Whewie. And there I'd been thinking I wouldn't be seeing much of this story in the months to come…..**

**But you guys make me want to update. Which is perplexing. And confusing. And slightly awe-inspiring. Love you all ;)**

**EPOV**

The chair was still swivelling as Edward walked past the front desk; still caught in the phantom ghost of its fleeing predecessor. He noted it down but didn't intend to do anything about it- thereby committing his fatal error.

He assumed the cleric had gone in search of a caffeine boost, an adrenaline rush that others sought elsewhere by clutching violet panties to their pocket. Edward couldn't help his fist involuntarily tightening over the fabric as he took the stairs two at the time, and then later on- three at a time as his impatience grew and festered.

But as he went to put the key in the lock, the door to Room 114 opened….

And Edward snarled.

**BPOV**

His name was James and he was the Big Bad Wolf to my red riding hood.

How do I know?

Well he told me so himself, right after he pummelled open the door and batted away the shower door like it was a piece of cake….being batted away. I didn't have time to mourn my inane lack of analogies though, because James was too busy mutilating my ear and telling me his name was….."James_, the big bad wolf."_

"And you must be little red riding hood, hiding from her death," he sneered before smashing my face against the tiled wall by the mirror. When he pulled me away, I noticed with some detachment that a trail of slick blood had been left behind.

Now that I _did _mourn.

I think James wanted Edward to know there had been a struggle, even though I'd done moot to hold up my end of the bargain thus far, because James bodily hoisted me into the bedroom and practically chucked me across the room to the over-turned bed.

Well, if he'd hoped for a gash to tear along my calf to join the decorated mess in my hair, then he was incredibly lucky. Because just for him, I began bleeding all over the place and leaving bloody handprints as I alternated between trying to rise pitifully and grabbing at my leg whenever a fiery spasm raced along it.

I was sobbing now.

And glaring.

Trying to do both whilst not having a cow. "Who are you?" I shrieked as James lunged into my personal bubble. Using the upturned bed to my advantage, I rolled of the mesh of mangled springs and sprite wood into a comforting layer of soft pillows and floating feathers.

"Geronimo!" I shouted after spitting one out, before attempting to knee him in the balls true and proper. It could've worked too, if James hadn't caught my ankles in a death grip and wound a short cord of rope over them. He then gouged his fingernails into the open wound just above it, and I didn't realise he was distracting me until the red-fuelled haze died along with the tears in my eyes, and my wrists were bound good and solid to my chest.

The bastard was good, I'll give him that.

Hell, I'd even applause if he let me go.

The rest of the journey after that was pretty mundane, because James literally threw my over his shoulder and walked out the room with a presence of mind that frightened me. Even when we stopped by the front desk, and the cleric continued reading his newspaper like a Neanderthal wasn't in front of him with a girl draped over his shoulder.

I knew we had stopped when my nose smashed into his butt.

"Help," I said. That's right, _said. _"Aren't you going to help?"

And the guy just sniffed and turned over a page in his newspaper. I could tell. I'd just heard the crinkle of pages rustling together.

It was the last straw for me though, because I slumped over (not hard) and wondered what the hell my parents could've done that was so bad, they couldn't even trade their lives for my own and skipped the country without so much as a "Goodbye, dear! Make sure you lock up and run!"

Because I'm finding it rather hard to believe all this effort was put in, just 'cos I didn't hand in my geometry homework to Mr. Yates last lesson, the only punishable crime I had against me.

Not Edward. Not James. And definitely _not _like this.

Not to mention, I'm feeling severely underdressed with this buttoned up shirt of…

_Edward's._

Now that was a face I wouldn't mind to see at a time like this. I had felt I was about _this _close from letting him trust me enough to spend the night unchained in the motel. He let me watch him take a piss, for god's sake! Once that barrier's been broken, there's no going back.

Oh sweet lord mercy, why can't you just let me _escape?_

James threw me into the back of his car, a vehicle that looked so uncannily like Edward's, that I had to check to see if there was a cup of sweet tea in the cup-holder, to see if James had hotwired it.

There wasn't, so that meant he wasn't a car-napper.

Just a kidnapper, instead. _The joy._

As I contemplated how to beat a child safety lock (a mechanism James has unfortunately mastered) I was totally surprised to blink, and find that James had released it long enough (or short enough, depending how you look at it) for the cleric to slip into the passenger, and idly lounge back.

His sinews creaked ominously. "The boy's just around the corner. He'll be with us in two minutes and then a further two, when he realises _she's_ gone." He jerked his head back at me with emphasis, and I knew I should've trusted my senses from the start. _Old you may be, sweet you're definitely not._

Whilst James contemplated the dark night sky, I wondered if I was strong enough to chew through my ropes and bite him like a rabid dog. But then I dismissed the idea because if it's anything I'm not, it's a bleeding _vampire. _Following James gaze, I squinted out the windscreen just as Edward rounded the corner and made quick work of the entrance.

I would've given anything for Edward to turn around and notice us, but even if he had turned, there was no guarantee he would've been able to see through the blacked out screens and _see _see us.

"Get out," James said coldly, and he cocked the gun he'd just retrieved from the glove compartment. "Gladly," I squeaked and thrust my shoulder against the back door, as if that would miraculously spring it open and leave me tumbling onto the ground.

"Not you. _You."_

It was the old man's turn to looked worried as the gun was turned on him, suddenly not sure of his standing. He threw a panicked look my way to see if I would speak up for him, but since I'd been hoping he'd do the same for me not an hour past, there was no chance. However the cleric seemed to relax when James handed him a cell phone, with the orders of handing it over to Edward.

Suddenly the tension was back at full force.

"Hand it over? But he'll-he'll kill me!"

"_I'll _kill you if you don't do as I say, pops. Now be a good little citizen and get the _fuck out of my car," _James growled and the whole car vibrated with the _ch-lunk!_ of an empty shell being ejected from its cartridge.

**EPOV**

Was that car there before?

What looked like the duplicate of Edward's car stood parked a few miles down the road, with the engine ticking and the headlights off. It reminded him of the police car that chased him not long ago, and his suspicions were immediately aroused.

He began walking towards it, drawing the gun out of his waistband and pointing it steadfastly at the vehicle, not wanting to take any chances. His head was buzzing. The fuel was pumping.

Edward stopped his progression when the passenger door opened and a vaguely familiar man got out, his hand nearly getting caught in the door when he went to slam it.

"Put your hands up!" Edward yelled.

And the man obeyed, in a promptly manner.

"Don't shoot!" he called. "I come in peace! A delivery package for Edward Cullen?"

"How do you know my name?" Edward asked, raising his gun a little bit higher. "I never make a point of revealing my name to messengers."

Edward's eyes flickered to the driver's side of the car, and were unsurprised to find it blacked out. Whoever was behind it sure had some gall to come in firing distance of his weapon unless they were cocky enough to risk- that was it! The car was bullet-proof!

_We're dealing with the government here…or the version the black market dealt with anyway._

"I'm merely repeating the information handed down to me. You've pissed off a lot of wrong people in your time, Mr Cullen; it was only a matter of time before it came and bit you in the ass."

"But why _her?" _Edward roared. "Why kidnap _her_, if it's me who you really want?She's a nobody! A gnat needing to be squashed! _She still wears white virgin knickers for god's sake!"_

Edward had no idea what the last exclamation had to do with anything, but a strange feeling was clenching his gut. The insignificance of white virgin knickers startled him, when especially Bella hadn't been wearing any since that shower she asked for so long ago. He remembered looking at her soiled knickers whilst she bathed, perched on top of the rest of her dirty clothing.

For a moment, he imagined them in their former glory, pearly white and all cotton. But then the dirt and the filth were back, and a part of him knew it was all down to him.

God, he needed to kill that bitch.

Right after he gave her the violet panties, of course- it would be a shame to put them to waste.

"I don't know who you're talking about," the man said shakily, and for the first time Edward glimpsed something frail behind the surface. Either the man was very perceptible to the chill….or he was really old. He lowered his gun slowly as the man shuffled forward with brittle steps that threatened to be his last.

"Here," he grunted, chucking over the package that Edward caught in reflex.

"You," he said, recognising the cleric from behind the desk. "It had to be you, didn't it? I bet you aren't even a cleric in real life. And a cell phone? Really? What the fuck are you playing at?"

The phone rang then, a chirpy ringtone chilling the night air and the cleric's expression to boot.

_Diddledee…Diddledoo…doo…doo…_

"Really?" Edward answered impatiently, finally ending the Mission Impossible theme tune. "You send an old man to do your dirty work? What next? Drowning kittens in a canal?"

"No," drawled a voice. "It's something much less heartbreaking."

The voice was somebody he knew- it was somebody close enough to trigger all the hatred in his body to overflow. Once upon a time he'd respected that voice-followed it's orders like a mindless fool- before his eyes opened up to the wider picture and realised hatred and respect were two very easy emotions he could mix up. Anyone who garnered enough of a violent reaction out of him was due a little respect.

Bright lights. Behind the old man. Headlights.

It had to be.

The ticking engine revved in anticipation.

"Say goodbye, Bella…" The phone was still stuck to his ear like an adhesive. Muffled screams that sounded out his name, got caught in Bella's throat as she tried to get through the duct-tape that James had probably slapped on her.

"Ed-mmfrgh- 'ard- Ed-mmdfs-fuu-fuu-ck-'ou."

He repeated the babbled language in his head, discarding the grunts and putting the rest of the words together to structure a half-decent sentence. _Edard-Ed- fuu-fuuck-ou. Edward-Ed-fu-fuck you._

That was Bella alright, that unbelievable chit.

The black Sedan, the standardised car given to any reasonable employee in their cooperation, tore forwards in an attempt to probably kill them. But this was Edward they were dealing with here, and he shoved the old man away with a mile to spare.

He considered letting the car come at him, and then jump onto the roof in a dangerous, albeit acrobatic move. But then the old man, seemingly having lost his mind, staggered back into the car's path again, waving his arms in a deranged manner.

"James!" he cried weakly. "You forgot me! Take me with you!"

And the sedan ploughed into them both with the intensity of a freight train. The old man was sucked right under, his bones cracking under the pressure of a five hundred pound vehicle. A down-spray of blood splattered the concrete like a gruesome horror movie, before Edward had just enough sight of mind to twist his body, and bounce over the hood, the windshield (which true to form, didn't crack), the roof and finally the trunk.

The last thing Edward smelt was gasoline leaking out the tailpipe.

**A/N: Oh no! Is Edward dead? Well if he is, it'll be pretty darn tricky getting Bella to fall for a corpse. Poor Edward will be pretty beat up though, so show him some love and review!**


End file.
